SRINAGAR: In a major bureaucratic reshuffle, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of 48 officers at the level of Joint Secretary and equivalent across key ministries and departments of the Government of India.
According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the appointments have been made at Level 14 of the Pay Matrix, with tenures ranging from fixed five-year terms to superannuation-based postings.
Among the prominent appointments, IAS officer Kapil Meena (SK:2010) has been named Managing Director of the National Horticulture Board under the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for a combined tenure up to January 17, 2027. The order also cancels the earlier appointment of Satyendra Singh, IFoS, to the post.
G Venkatesh, ICAS (1997), has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, while Priyanka Das, IAS (MP:2009), takes over as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation for a tenure extending up to March 5, 2030.
Jawahar Packirisamy, IAS (UT:2007), has been appointed Chairman (JS level) of the Marine Products Export Development Authority under the Department of Commerce. In the defence sector, multiple appointments have been made, including Preeti Meena, IAS; Shailesh Kumar Chourasia, IAS; and Vinod Kumar, IRSME, as Joint Secretaries, along with Ajeet Kumar Srivastava, IRAS, as Additional Financial Adviser and Joint Secretary.
Vipul Aggarwal, IPS (GJ:2001), has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region for an overall tenure up to March 15, 2027. In the Department of Economic Affairs, Sakshi Mittal and Laya Madduri, both IAS officers, have been appointed as Joint Secretaries, with the latter’s post temporarily upgraded to the JS level.
The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities will see Vikas Singh, IAS, appointed as Joint Secretary up to April 27, 2026, followed by Girish Chandrashekhar Hosur, IFoS, who will serve until his superannuation in October 2027.
Chaudhari Uday Gaurishankar, IAS, has been posted as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, while Bandana Preyashi, IAS, takes charge as Joint Secretary in the Department of Fertilizers.
In a key appointment, Venkata Nagi Reddy Kovvuri, IDES, has been named Executive Director (General) of the Food Corporation of India until September 30, 2029.
The health sector will see Muthukumar Alagumuthu and Prabhakar, both IAS officers, appointed as Joint Secretaries in the Department of Health and Family Welfare.
In the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mahatme Sandeep Namdeo, IAS, and Rakesh Rathi, IPS, have been appointed as Joint Secretaries. Karma R Bonpo, IAS, has been posted as Director of Census Operations and Director of Citizen Registration (JS level) in Sikkim.
Further appointments include S. Tejaswi Naik, IAS, in the Ministry of Labour and Employment; Shakil Alam as Additional CPFC (Headquarters) in EPFO; Parikipandla Narahari, IAS, in the Department of Land Resources; and Ramesha G., IRS, in the Department of Legal Affairs.
Kulveer Singh Yadav has been appointed in the Ministry of Mines, Mohammad Afzal in the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and Anupam Kumar, IAS, in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
Pradeep Singh, IFoS, has been appointed Adviser (JS level) in NITI Aayog, while Shanmuga Priya Mishra and Ganesh Shankar Mishra, both IAS officers, have been posted as Joint Directors (JS level) at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration.
Harmit Singh Pahuja, IAS, has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the DoPT, while Venkatesapathy S and Praveen P Nair have been posted in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
Pankaj Kumar, IAS, has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Power, and Hardik Satishchandra Shah, IAS, has been appointed as Private Secretary to the Prime Minister at JS level in the Prime Minister’s Office on a co-terminus basis.
In the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Kajal, IAS, and Sumeet Kumar Jarangal, IAS, have been appointed as Joint Secretaries.
Rohan Chand Thakur, IAS, has been appointed CEO (JS level) of the National Land Monetization Corporation, while Shankar Lal Kumawat, IAS, has been posted in the Department of Revenue, with the earlier appointment of Shailesh Bagauli cancelled.
Udit Agrawal, IAS, has been appointed in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, while Sanjay Chilwarwar has been posted in the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Saravanan M, IAS, has been appointed in the Department of Space, and K Balaji, IAS, in the Department of Telecommunications. Alaknanda Dayal, IAS, has been appointed in the Ministry of Textiles, and Suvasish Das, IFoS, in the Ministry of Tourism.
Pratima Satish Kumar Verma, IAS, has been appointed Commissioner (JS level) in the National Education Society for Tribal Affairs, while Rashi Sharma, IPoS, has been appointed Executive Director (Admin) (JS level) in the National Mission for Clean Ganga.
